The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1887-03-31
WASHINGTON.
Opinion of the Attorney General
on the Interstate Com
merce Law.
Whether it Allows Railroad Passes
TO Postal Clerks and
Inspectors.

WASHINGTON, March 20-On the 2ist inst the
postmaster general solicited from the attoTnery
General an opinion on the question whether there
would be anything in the act of February 4, 1857,
entitled an act 60 regulate commerce, which pro.
hibits the practice of receiving passes by employees
heretofore provided ia ths department., aud ii, in
any particular, the act prohibits The continuance
by railroad COmp8uies of the practice of transport
Ing employees free OF charge Ia what degree, and
by what limitations
In his letter of request the postm eter-general
says:
1t has for many years been almost the universal
prActive of railroad companies engaged in the trans
portation of she msiis to transport without special
charge the inspectors, this department, including
such officers as the pOsmaster-general Ia by stat
ute authorized TO employ az inspectors or special
agents and also to transport without charge postal
clerks not cnly when engaged in the actual ser.
vice of distributing mails the car en- route, and
on their tetura trips, but to transport them be-
tween their places of residence and the point at
which they are required by che rules of the service
to begin their "lay yf' when they are at liberty to
go home for rest.
The question has been raised by various com.
munications TO the department whether, since the
recent act of congress OF February 1, 1881 entitled
an act "tO regulate commerce. the continuance of
such facilities will COntTayene inspectors and spe-
ciN agents. Agents have habiually received com
II issiOns signed by the head of the department
designating them as inspectors and requiring all
railroads and other contractors engaged III trans
portaiun of mails TO carry respectively designated
ptrsOnG with special charge Tor transpor
tation. Similar commissions have been Issued to
postal clerks, but in addition passrs have been
granted them 60 make the return trips, although
not actually engaged in distributing tine mails, and
70 travel between the terminals Cf their routes,
The foilowind s the opinion Of the attorney gen.
era.
The title of the act of the Attn Of February, SS7
70 an 'act to regulate commerce ~ is not entitled
an act to regulate the United States mail ser
vice The question presented is. substantially,
what ia the intention 0; the Lawmakers; Is t that
ii should be construed to inCude the mail service
OF the United States:
The constitutional power authorizing the at, is
She third clause Of the eighth section of the eleventh
article OF the constitution, which impOWer9 CON
gress to regulate commerce. with foreign nations
ard among the several states and with the Indian
tribes. If this provision OF the constitution had
been understood by the trainers Of the cOneitutiOn
TO have embraced the mail service of the United
States, there would have been no sufficient reason
for the Introduction of the seventh clause of the
same sectiOn and article, "cungrese shall have
power to establish postolfce and post roads,"
under which last the postal system has been or
ganized. The magnitude OF that system ls such
that itJ main operations can only he conducted
successfully by uniform and general rules, Equal
justice in the admini5tration of the seryicee re-
Quires that the burden Of its execution shall not be
subject to the possibility OF different raiee between
those portions of the service which may be per
formed exclusively within the individual states and
those which include service in two or
more states. The pr0yiaions of the act,
ss applied to the subject INTENDED to
be embraced therein do not apply to the former,
but to the latter 1t is not TO be supposed the law
makers Intended under regulsdon OF commerce,
to subject part of the mail rerviCe TO the proyic-
ions Of the act, while another part would ne eX-
cluded The mail service s q INIT system, organ
lied in pursuance Of an established governmental
p III y.
rhe acknowledgement, as the head OF the de-
partmeDt, ia placed over that system. He is re-
quireG by law, among many other speclbc duties,
10 suspend generally all busln .ss Oh the depart
weeta lnd a.eerte all Laws relative r. t!e postal
eorvice (t vised Statutes, 19b) II could not he the
purpose of the act under consideration to JON the
posimas er general with the eommlssl4ners OF
of the interstate acF, nor 70
return the postmaster general from the
duty of superlntendng and executing all laws re-
ating 20 tue postal service. No interest Is mani
festei indicating division OF service labor, a
responsibility between the postmaster general and
the commissioners Of interstate commerce. The
act was aot intended to relate Q! the postal service
The attorney general after long ana elaborate
argument thus conciGdee:
Donbtless therefore 1t is clear the Uuited tates
is not embraced in, or subject to the provisions OF
the act of February D. 1887. That service consists
in the receipts speedy transmission, distribution
and delivery of the malls The service IN lts pro-
visione is one Of Lawful, customary and necessary
and S whtS %iia are ea' GSss
to the lave among the lawful, Customary
and necessary iDstrgmentaitiHe Tor the eiicienl,
consistent and successful conduct pt We -erNlce
fhe DastatiCe dPp3rtm' y ie authorized uE lW 10
.5end OiIjCeIA agants anl clerks ut The government
10 take charge 6f protect and distribute Ihe mails,
and to search for and investigate errois, frauds
and crimes relating to them Persons thus
smplnved when in the actual line OF duty or when
in pursnance thereof, going 70 or returning from
their places of residence, while in performance OF
services, or to or from their assigned me ot dniy
IN the ordinary and customary course Of the ad-
minislrRuon of the service, should he regarded as
in the performance OF official labor and unaffected
By the provisions OF this act.
Yours respectfully
A n GARLAND a AttOrneY General.